Florida Gymnastics’ Season Ends Early In Fort Worth

The NCAA National Gymnastics Championship Semifinal ended in heartbreak for the third-seeded Florida Gators Thursday afternoon. Florida fell to the No. 7 Missouri Tigers by just one-tenth of a point to advance alongside Oklahoma to the Final Four on the Floor.

final from Fort Worth#GoGators | presented by @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/YBuvQpJ0f1

— Gators Gymnastics (@GatorsGym) April 17, 2025

Two Teams for One Spot

The race came down to Florida and Missouri. The two teams went head-to-head in Gainesville on Feb. 28, where the Gators won 198.125-197.725.

Florida came into the competition searching for its fourth NCAA Championship in program history and the first since 2015. This is the first time the Gators have missed out on the finals since 2019.

On the other hand, Missouri has never advanced to the finals. The Tigers came into this meet making it clear that they are not an underdog, but instead a top contender.

“We are undeniable,” senior Amari Celestine said. “If there is not a gate open, we find a new way.”

Getting Started

Florida began the meet on balance beam, an event where it’s seen lower scores as of late. Selena Harris-Miranda contributed a 9.95, which led the event until the last rotation. The Gators matched their beam score of 49.3 from the regional finals to sit in second place.

Known for its electric floor routines, Missouri scored its third lowest score on the apparatus this season with all counted scores were in the 9.8s. The Tigers trailed Florida by just 0.075 after one rotation.

Rotation Two

Senior Leanne Wong had an error on floor, as she had too much power on her first landing. Her 9.6625 would be dropped, as Harris-Miranda and freshman Taylor Clark had two hit routines to get the Gators to a 49.35 on the rotation.

“I trust that this Gator team is going to keep on going,” Florida coach Jenny Rowland said halfway through.

Score Rotation!#GoGators pic.twitter.com/kiH3Cq3Her

— Gators Gymnastics (@GatorsGym) April 17, 2025

On the vault, which was the lowest scoring event of the day across the board, sophomore Hannah Horton had a fall. Her teammates stepped up to get a 49.125 on the rotation. The gap between the squads was then 0.3 with the Gators in the lead.

Slipping Up vs. Staying Consistent

The No. 2 vault team in the country had a rough time on the apparatus, as it scored the lowest on the event in over five years.

It all began with a 9.7125 from Anya Pilgrim before fifth-year Victoria Nguyen bounded out of her landing, scoring a 9.7625. With a stick, sophomore Danie Ferris responded with a 9.9. However, Harris-Miranda ended the rotation with an under-rotated vault and a 9.75 to give Florida a 49.075.

Before event specialist Mara Titarsolej even competed, the Tigers were just 0.025 behind the Gators. However, a 9.9375 pushed Missouri into the second slot by 0.075.

Tight Finish

In the final rotation, the two teams went back and forth, competing on their respective events simultaneously.

The Gators headed to an event where they have the top score in collegiate history. Wong, the defending bars NCAA co-champion, and Alyssa Arana led the Gators with a pair of 9.9375s, but it wouldn’t be enough.

Over on beam, Missouri fought to keep its record-breaking season alive. SEC Specialist of the Year Helen Hu had the final word with a 9.9875, receiving a perfect score from five judges and pushing the Tigers to 197.3 on the afternoon.

https://twitter.com/NCAA_Gymnastics/status/1913001733334147241

Florida’s 197.2 was its lowest score since competing at Oklahoma on Feb. 21.

Oklahoma Steady Throughout

The Sooners came into this meet intending to redeem themselves from last year’s early exit in this round.

After starting on bars, Oklahoma led the field early with a 49.4 after the first rotation. The only place OU faltered was beam. Lily Pederson had a fall on beam, and Keira Wells dipped with a score of 9.775, which would count towards the final score. However, the Sooners stayed 0.1 ahead of Florida.

On floor, the No. 1 team in the country on the apparatus delivered once again with the highest event score of the day (49.525).

Finally, Oklahoma made it to the event that led to its demise last year: vault. The Sooners were consistent on the apparatus to finish with a 197.55. OU now has a chance to gain back its title after winning its sixth program title two years ago.

Alabama Trailing

The Crimson Tide have won the NCAA Championship six times, but have not hit the mark since 2012. Bama was the true underdog coming into this meet, as it was the one team not projected to make the Elite Eight.

The 11-seed Alabama started on vault with a subpar 49.125 on the vault. The Crimson Tide faced early struggles on bars, yet they closed the gap on the Tigers with a 49.1625 on the apparatus.

After injuring her toe on bars, junior Gabby Gladieux scored a team-high 9.9 on beam before limping off the podium. She came back with a 9.8875 on floor to end with a 39.4125 in the all-around.

Bama ended its season with a 196.825, its lowest score since Feb. 14.

The Individual Title Race

The individual scores from this session will be compared with the evening’s to decide individual national titles.

The all-around is currently led by OU’s Jordan Bowers with a 39.7125. AAI Award winners Jade Carey from Oregon State and Haleigh Bryant from LSU will try to answer this score Thursday night.

https://twitter.com/BeaverGym/status/1912300167979471174

Ferris leads the vault with a 9.9, which is likely to be surpassed in the evening session. Bowers, Titarsolej, Wong and Arana are tied for first on bars with a 9.9375. Hu’s knockout performance on beam gave her the lead for the title. Bowers and Oklahoma’s Faith Torrez round out the field, leading the floor exercise with a 9.95.

Up Next

Session two, featuring LSU, Utah, UCLA and Michigan State, begins Thursday at 9 p.m. The top two meet up with Oklahoma and Missouri Saturday at 4 p.m. in the NCAA Championship Finals.